GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news that you need to know about as you start your day. 

For peat’s sake 

1. In our main story this morning, Niall Sargent writes how the Bill which would exempt peat extraction for the horticulture industry from the need for planning permission has been slammed by legal experts as incompatible with EU law.

The Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021, set to be debated in the Seanad tomorrow, has also been criticised by peatland experts as out of touch with Ireland’s climate ambitions.

Testing

2. The new antigen testing regime in primary schools across the country begins today.

The tests will be provided for children who are close contacts of a case in their own class pod. 

Ghislaine Maxwell 

3. In New York, the sex trafficking trial of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell is set to begin.

The British socialite denies recruiting teenagers who were not yet adults for Epstein to sexually abuse from 1994 to 2004. 

Japan

4. Japan today announced plans to bar all new foreign travellers over the Omicron variant of Covid-19, joining a growing list of countries trying to erect virtual fortresses against the heavily mutated new strain.

G7 health ministers are set to meet later in the day to discuss the new strain — first detected in South Africa — and the fresh challenge it poses to global efforts to battle the pandemic.

Meeting

5. Staying with Covid news and Nphet will meet with the Government today to discuss the new Omicron strain and Ireland’s immediate plans on how to tackle it.

Sweden

6. In international news, Swedish Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson gets a second chance at becoming the country’s prime minister, after her initial attempt last week lasted just seven hours.

Parliament is expected to appoint Andersson as the head of a minority government made up solely of the Social Democrats, with just 10 months to go before September general elections.

Charged

7. In Liverpool, a 14-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of Ava White (12). [Sky News] 

South Africa

8. South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has called on countries to “immediately and urgently” reverse travel bans linked to the discovery of the new Omicron variant.

Dozens of nations from Europe to Asia have blacklisted South Africa and its neighbours since South African scientists flagged Omicron on 25 November.

Weather

9. Another cold start to the day today but things are looking up. 

Met Éireann has predicted that there will be good dry spells in the afternoon in most places and that sunny spells will develop during the day, with the best of these in the south. Temperatures are going back to normal with highs of 8 to 11 degrees.

You can read the full forecast here.